I. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to fire starters. Specifically the invention is directed to fire starters that are in the form of oil-in-water emulsions.
II. Description of the Prior Art
A common problem experienced by consumers is the starting of fires. Such fires include charcoal fires for cooking and wood fires for enjoyment. Normally, petroleum distillates are utilized as an aid in starting such fires since applying a lit match directly to the charcoal or wood is ineffective.
The petroleum distillates of the prior art are characterized by burning relatively rapidly and flowing away from their intended point of use due to their low viscosity. These products also pose safety problems due to their tendency of "flash back" and contain 94-100% burnable liquids. The commonly available solid fire starters have proved ineffective since they do not stay in place and are often difficult to ignite.
There have been proposals for formulating a jet fuel in the form of an oil-in-water emulsion. These emulsions contain at least 75% internal or oil phase. These emulsions have not been suitable as fire starters since they are difficult to ignite.
The present invention is advantageous since it provides a fire starter which can be ignited by conventional means, resists flach back, is easy to use, propogates well, has a long-burning flame and requires a smaller amount of burnable liquid.